THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 24th IFFK has received tremendous response from film buffs with 5,000 delegate passes getting sold out in two days. “First day alone saw a major rush, with 4,500 passes being claimed. There is no decision as of yet to issue extra passes to the general public,” said Mahesh Panchu, secretary, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.
“It was only last year when we hiked the fee owing to floodsthat some passes remained unclaimed,” said Panchu. Meanwhile, he also said that if the 500 passes in the senior citizen category remain unclaimed, they could be added to the general category.
The 24th IFFK which begins on December 6 is slated to be a low-key affair like last year, sans any festival jamboree. Like last year, there won’t be any cultural programmes.
“We are still reeling under the effects of the flood. So it will be a low-key affair,” says Panchu. Altogether 1,500 passes have been designated for senior citizens, the registrations of which began November 8 and officially ended on Thursday. The remaining 500 passes are still open to be claimed. A thousand passes designated for the students were also sold out during the initial days itself.
As many as 500 passes have been designated for film and TV professionals, the registration for which began onFriday and will continue till November 25.
The media professionals can get their passes from November 20 to 25.“Five hundred passes are remaining. Their registration date is over, but if some senior citizens need passes, they will be allowed to register. If not, the 500 will be added to the general category,” he said.
Two thousand passes are designated to the subscribers of ‘Chalachitra Sameeksha’, the magazine of the academy and also those who take a new subscription.
“If there is some minister-level intervention and there is still a demand for passes in the general category, then we might issue another 1,000 passes. No such decision has been taken. That will be decided after November 25,” says Panchu.